Morris revived Yankees myth to brand Hillary Clinton a "phony"

On Hannity & Colmes, Dick Morris revived the myth that Sen. Hillary Clinton became a New York Yankees fan only after she decided to run for the Senate, saying: "What I've always hated about Hillary is the phoniness. 'I'm from New York.' 'I'm a Yankee fan.' 'Oh, I love to chug-a-lug.' 'I'm a hunting -- or a hunter.' You know, all of this absolute garbage that you know isn't true."

On the December 8 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes, syndicated columnist and Fox News contributor Dick Morris revived the myth that Sen. Hillary Clinton proclaimed herself a New York Yankees fan only after she decided to run for the Senate in New York. Discussing President-elect Barack Obama's selection of Clinton to be secretary of state, Morris said: "This is a juncture in her life that's really significant because she has a chance to stop being a phony and to start being who she really is, which is not a horrible person." He added: "What I've always hated about Hillary is the phoniness. 'I'm from New York.' 'I'm a Yankee fan.' 'Oh, I love to chug-a-lug.' 'I'm a hunting -- or a hunter.' You know, all of this absolute garbage that you know isn't true."

In fact, as Media Matters for America has noted, Clinton's 2003 autobiography, Living History (Simon & Schuster), contains a photograph of Clinton wearing a Yankees cap in 1992 -- eight years before she ran for the Senate. Further, The Washington Post reported on September 12, 1994, that "Mrs. Clinton ... as a kid was a 'big-time' fan of the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees and 'understudied' Ernie Banks and Mickey Mantle."

As Media Mattershaspreviouslynoted, several conservatives and media figures, including Morris himself, have falsely claimed or suggested that Clinton became a Yankees fan only upon deciding to run for the Senate.

From the December 8 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes:

MORRIS: I want to say this about Hillary. This is a juncture in her life that's really significant because she has the chance to stop being a phony and to start being who she really is, which is not a horrible person. She's a pretty good manager. She doesn't procrastinate. She prioritizes well. She's articulate.

What I've always hated about Hillary is the phoniness. "I'm from New York." "I'm a Yankee fan." "Oh, I love to chug-a-lug." "I'm a hunting -- or a hunter." You know, all of this absolute garbage that you know isn't true. And she now has a chance as secretary of state really to prove her worth.